I feel alone every time I try to talk about Gleewith my male friends. Turns out, it’s not a show that other guys watch. But I’m not ashamed to be a straight man who loves musicals and TV shows filled with showtunes. It’s just my upbringing, having been raised somewhat by Rodgers & Hammerstein and spending most of my teen years acting in high school drama productions.
Ironically, though, I have no interest in the film adaptation of Rock of Ages, the 80s rock anthem-filled “jukebox musical” that Adam Shankman(Hairspray) has been tapped to direct. It looks cheesy and I don’t much like the idea of these types of musicals that revolve a plot around a greatest hits compilation. But Shankman thinks it will be like “Mamma Mia!for dudes,” meaning he actually believes heterosexual guys, the kind that don’t watch Glee and The Sound of Musicif they can help it, will want to see it.
The whole idea got me wondering, though. What are the most guy-friendly musicals ever made? Probably those from Monty Python. Is Paint Your Wagonon the list? How about Tommy? Grease? Is Guys and Dollscutting it close? Honestly, unless Rock of Ages has a lot of action and explosions, I don’t see it appealing to the average straight man.
Shankman is also in the news today with the announcement that he’ll co-produce the 2010 Academy Awards telecast with former Fox exec/producer Bill Mechanic (The New World). This makes me wonder if Shankman will try to jump off last year’s “musicals are back!” theme with a “guys can like musicals and the Oscars, too!” vibe. Preferably with his Pacifierstar, Vin Diesel, hosting (and dancing and singing and maybe kicking some ass). In all seriousness, though, Shankman will probably try to bring Steve Martinback.
What do you think it would take for real manly dudes to both go see Rock of Ages and watch the Oscars? Comment below with your suggestions and check out the other film blogs’ responses to Shankman’s goal after the jump:
Did you know that legalizing gay marriage could turn the economy around? Well, don’t take my word for it, but Neil Patrick Harris presents a pretty convincing argument…in song. He and a whole slew of big name comedic actors, including Jack Black, John C. Reilly, Allison Janney, Maya Rudolph, Andy Richter, Margaret Cho, Kathy Najimy, Rashida Jones and Craig Robinson, have united for an exclusive video from FunnyorDie.com that functions as a hilarious and tuneful protest of Proposition 8. And the songs are well-written too, since the whole thing was conceived and written by five-time Oscar-nominated composer Marc Shaiman. Hairspray director/choreographer Adam Shankman directed it.
In additon to supporting a cause, the video provides another surprising reason for me to regain interest in Jack Black. He’s terrific as Jesus here, and thanks to other recent online performances, such as his silent turn as Ben Franklin, I have a newfound enjoyment of his talents. Maybe he can somehow limit his career to the web and I can ignore all the obnoxious films he’s made in the last decade.
Anyway, check out the Prop 8 musical after the jump.
We’ve had a bit of trouble getting this episode to go through the iTunes feed, so we hope this re-post will fix the problem. The original post, with episode description and embedded player, is here.
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Did you know that legalizing gay marriage could turn the economy around? Well, don’t take my word for it, but Neil Patrick Harris presents a pretty convincing argument…in song. He and a whole slew of big name comedic actors, including Jack Black, John C. Reilly, Allison Janney, Maya Rudolph, Andy Richter, Margaret Cho, Kathy Najimy, Rashida Jones and Craig Robinson, have united for an exclusive video from FunnyorDie.com that functions as a hilarious and tuneful protest of Proposition 8. And the songs are well-written too, since the whole thing was conceived and written by five-time Oscar-nominated composer Marc Shaiman. Hairspray director/choreographer Adam Shankman directed it.
